


Six Winters

by MarinLiliz



Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Angst, Canonical Character Death, Drama, Fluff, Gift Art Inside, M/M, Mentions Sephiroth, Not Beta Read, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-22
Updated: 2016-02-22
Packaged: 2018-05-22 12:59:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6080319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarinLiliz/pseuds/MarinLiliz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Six takes on Zack and Cloud; life, love and relationship under the theme of Winter.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Six Winters

**Author's Note:**

> Back in the winter of 2008, SpookyDaedalus over at y!gallery had a Zack/Cloud contest themed 'Winter'. This was my entry.
> 
> I got the 3rd place in the contest and the prize was a drawing by SpookyDaedalus himself. You can see it at the end of the text.

 

    **1.**  

 

“Cloud Strife!?” A voice that sounds inquisitive, says from the locker room door.

Cloud raises his head from tying his ShinRa issued boots and looks in the direction of the warm voice enquiring after him. “Yes. I’m Cloud Strife.”

There's a handsome, dark-haired and strangely familiar SOLDIER, leaning against the doorframe, looking at Cloud, skeptically. “You're Cloud Strife?”

“Yes!” Cloud answers with a defying tone.

The dark-haired SOLDIER smirks and looks him from above in a mocking stare. “You’re kind a short for SOLDIER, aren’t you?”

Cloud rises, unconsciously trying to stand taller and snarls, indignantly, “what’s it to you?”

The man enters the room with an extended, welcoming hand and introduces himself: “Zack Fair. You’re in my squad and you’re late,” he chides. “You should be out there, by now, with the rest of the trainees.”

Cloud takes the outstretched hand; paling with the realization the man is his superior, but the warm smile matching the voice and the kind eyes, settle his fears. Instead he asks, “are you the squad leader?”

“Nope, I’m just the training officer. Sephiroth’s the leader.”

“Really!?”

“Oh no! Not another Sephiroth fan,” the squad trainer exclaims and theatrically raises his hands in defeat. “Yeah really, peanut! Now, if I were you I’d hurry. He isn’t into undisciplined and lazy soldiers.”

Cloud huffs at the accusation, but catches himself before saying anything he might regret, remembering the man is a superior and simply replies, “Yeah, I'm going.”

“It should be,Yes, Sir. I'm going, Sir." The officer points to the first class insignia. “Got it, private?” he asks, not hiding his grin.

“Yes, sir,” Cloud answers, reluctantly.

“Good, now hurry.” Zack says moving to the door. “Oh, and dress warmly. It’s freezing outside.” He adds, turning back and smiling, “Welcome to SOLDIER, Cloud!”

 

        **2.**

  
“And here I thought you were a Sephiroth fan!” Zack stares at deep blue eyes and at the almost cold-purple lips that have kissed him just now.

“Well, apparently you thought wrong.” The lips quirk up in a small smile and a set of sharp teeth bite down on the lower one.  
  
Unconsciously, Zack raises a hand to the tormented lip, rescuing it from the assaulting white teeth. Soothing the afflicted area with his thumb, he asks, just to be utterly certain, “is that so?”

“It is.” The lips expand into a luminous, wide grin.

“Show me again, how you’re not a Sephiroth fan.” Zack begs, still not completely convinced of his luck.

Cloud leans closer, placing a soft, fleeting kiss to the partially open, cold-pale lips.

“You’re going to have to be a bit more persuasive than that.” Zack holds onto Cloud, savoring the warmth of the body close to his and their mingling, white breaths, laughing loudly in the icy chill of the night.

“Oh, really?” The lips return the blissful laugh.

“Definitely!”

 

  
**3.**

 

“You are so gonna pay for this!” Cloud yells as another snowball hits his head, adding even more water to his already dripping wet hair.

They’ve been at it for several minutes now, the relentless fight to determine the supreme champion of snowball throwing and simply managing to get wetter by the minute.

Another ball flies just right past his ear and Cloud shouts back across the distance between them, with undisguised glee, “missed!” Only to have another one hit him square in the face. He licks the ice from his frozen lips and growls. “So paying for this. With interest!”

Zack keeps smirking and throwing iced balls in Cloud’s direction, hitting less and less as he is assaulted by a laughing fit, triggered by the state of Cloud’s spiky hair – now limply glued to his face – that has Zack doubling over, trying to get some air back into his lungs.

Cloud takes his chance at Zack's distraction. He gathers more snow to produce more ammo and crouching he moves slowly, and hopefully, stealthily, as he approaches Zack, tackling him to the icy ground while pushing a handful of snow into his face and mouth, finalizing his attack by straddling Zack’s hips. “See? With interest!”

Zack turns his head to spit some of the ice out of his mouth and when he turns back he grins and grinds his hips up into Cloud's. “Yes, with hard, hot interest.” His grin widens and pulls Cloud down into a melting kiss.

 

   
      **4.**

 

“Soldier, we’re supposed to be on patrol!” Zack all but yelps when Cloud presses him against the cold bricks of a lonely alley wall, hidden from an empty Main Street; greedily kissing him out of air.

“It’s too damn cold to be out here. No one’s gonna do anything in this awful, freezing weather. Might as well warm up,” Cloud replies, obstinately, as he pulls at Zack’s uniform jacket, trying to get his frozen hands on warm skin.

“It’s so cold out and you wanna undress me?” Zack hisses as the algid hands make contact with his skin, drawing his clothes up and exposing his stomach to the cold air. But the hands move in steady, kneading movements and slowly Zack is warming up.

“Shut up! I’ll have you warm enough in no time,” Cloud murmurs against Zack’s neck, his breath warm in the cold skin, forming hundreds of small irregular bumps, that Cloud can feel with his sword-calloused hands, making Zack tremble at the touch. The hands trail down the chest to belt, opening it with a forceful tug, exposing Zack, hot and hard, to the cold night.

Zack gives in, his desire rising with Cloud’s insistent advances, his hands holding his face, kissing him deep, seeking the heat of his mouth, the warmth of his tongue. Zack's hands slide down from the flushed face, down his chest and forcefully trying to open Cloud’s trousers. Desperate to feel the warmth encased within.

They both shiver as their erections are removed from their cozy protection to the hard, biting cold. Blinding desire overtaking them; pushing them closer, their hardness' rubbing together. Hips thrusting in time and rhythm; hands joining the mix, adding extra sensation to their already heightened senses.

Climax is reached too soon but not a moment too late.

They pant into each other’s mouths:

“God!”

“Hmm…”

“That was…”

“Yeah…”

The gelid air of the winter night has been completely forgotten.

  

      **5.**

 

  
They lie quietly in the warm bed of the cozy cottage where they’ve spent this small vacation. Tucked in colorful and comfortable linens. The fire crackling in the hearth and the heavy wind rattling the shutters the only sounds disrupting their post-coital haze.

Their chests still heaving from the love they just made. Spit and cum and sweat still warm and trailing down their skin. Their bodies still connected and seeming discouraged and reluctant to part from what feels like their natural position. They lay together in peace and calm and love.

“Do we really have to go? We could stay one more day?” Cloud begs softly. “Stay forever?”

“I wish. We have to present ourselves tomorrow at headquarters. There’s this hush-hush mission to Nibelheim; there’s been some weird things popping up around that area.”

“Hmm…” Cloud pouts.

“So, how does it feel to go back home?”

There’s silence for awhile before Cloud finally answers, as if he was pondering how or what to answer. “I don’t know. It doesn’t really feel like home anymore.”

Zack holds him close, kissing his temple and inhaling the familiar scent of Cloud’s skin.

“ _You_ are home, not that place. That’s what it feels like.”

The revelation stuns Zack. “I love you. I don’t think I ever told you that, did I?”

“Hmm... I think I would remember that.”

They hug and roll on the bed, searching a more comfortable position to slumber into the night.

“Better sleep, then.”

“Hmm, yeah.”

“Goodnight, love.”

“Goodnight, home.”

  
After a few moments of silence Zack huffs a laugh.

"What?" Cloud asks, already groggy from sleep.

"That was so cheesy!" Zack laughs into his neck.

"Shut up! We were having a moment there," Cloud says, pushing Zack away from his chest.

Zack holds onto him, arms and legs taking hold, and whispers into Cloud's ear, "sooo cheesy..."

Cloud bites his neck in retaliation and then struggles a little, more trying to find a comfortable position than pushing Zack away. And they finally settle for the night.

  

 

**6.**

 

White and grey droplets of iced water fall from the ashen sky turning everything blank and frozen and _dead_.

 _DEAD_ , just like him.

The cold wind blows the white from the top of the trees, dragging it down to the immense mantle of snow, covering the horizon. Bitter and numbing and _dead_.

 _DEAD_ , just like him.

The whiteness swirls around him in a fierce howl, strong enough to bring him to his knees, strong enough to keep him on his knees and turn his tears into icicles. Chill and frosted and _dead_.

 _DEAD_ , just like him.

He falls face down on the white, cool surface - hopefully forgotten - and waits the dark to come over him and take him from the sharp, gelid frost his heart has become. Algid, iced, broken and _dead_.

 _DEAD_ , just like Zack.

 

**Author's Note:**

> First posted to y!gallery in March '08.  
> Last edited February '16.
> 
> Art by SpookyDaedalus. It ilustrates the passage in part 2: (...) _Unconsciously, Zack raises a hand to the tormented lip, rescuing it from the assaulting white teeth._


End file.
